[Faith-talk] The Principle of Wu Wei

[Brandon A. Olivares]

Debby,

I’m sorry I didn’t get to this message until today.

Yes, of course you are correct. There are those Christians who seek a genuine, real relationship with the Infinite, and all the trials that come with it. It’s actually interesting that if you read the writings of the Christian mystics, and those of the eastern sages, they sound remarkably alike. Almost as though…we’re all facing the same Truth, but in many different ways.

I like to differentiate religion from spirituality. Let’s take the example of Jesus. The Pharisees were great examples of practicers of religion. They did what they had to do, because that’s just what was done. Anyone who didn’t follow their traditions were outcasts— looked down upon.

Meanwhile, Jesus comes along and breaks many of their rules. He heals on the sabbath. His disciples pick wheat on the sabbath. They yell and shout in recognition of the Truth they have come into interaction with, instead of remaining quiet as they were “supposed to”. Jesus said the sabbath (replace with any kind of rule), was made for man, not man for the sabbath. He taught genuine spirituality, not just following the rules because they were passed down to you.

Over the years, it seems to me anyway, the institution of Christianity became more and more like the pharisees whom its founder so criticized. So we’re left with the great majority of “Christians” believing it’s enough to go to church, maybe confession once a year if they’re Catholic. But none of it is touching the heart. None of it is making a genuine impression on their soul. God may as well be a fictional character they read about, for as much impact as He makes on their lives.

But yes, you are right. There are those who live out that relationship— who make it more than a bunch of rules and regulations. It is human nature I believe, and it extends to all religions. Jesus said few would find the narrow path. I believe he didn’t mean the narrow path of Christianity, but the narrow path of having an authentic, real relationship with the Infinite/God/whatever you want to call It.

So when I say what I say, it is mostly to those who are dead. And it really applies to any religion, as I said. What needs to be done is to become alive, whether you’re Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist, or even Atheist for all I care. To come into contact with that which is greater, infinite, more expansive than your idea of yourself.

Debby, I know you personally believe, and most people here believe, that you need to be Christian, or Catholic in your case, to reach heaven and have an authentic relationship with God. But here’s the thing for me, and why I don’t accept that. In my 16 years of searching, going from one path to another to another, I’ve felt that connection again and again. Sometimes I’ve lost it if I got too involved in life and ignored what was within, but there’s not been a single path that didn’t share that same connection— that same inner communion with the Infinite. I admit it was a bit harder for me to find that connection in Catholicism, because the practices and rituals just don’t speak to me. I don’t see God in them, but I saw how it was possible. But I had that connection in Christian, I had it in Hinduism, in the New Age, in Buddhism, in Paganism, in the Occult. I’ve read Muslim writers who I could tell had that relationship in their heart, because it shines through their writing. Rum is a good example of that.

Nothing was greater about that connection in Christianity than it was anywhere else. Indeed for me it was always like fitting a square peg in a round hole, but that’s just my personal experience. But no matter the name I called God, or by what means I approached Him/Her/It, it was all the same essence.

That’s why of late I’ve given up trying to express myself via any religion at all. I might feel closer to, say, Taoism, or certain aspects of Hinduism, but I don’t need to identify as that. It’s just a label. It’s trying to name the unnameable. It’s attempting to define the undefinable. To make known the unknowable. Now I just live it. I live it in my everyday life, in my music, in the discussions I have. That’s enough for me.

---
Peace,
Brandon

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> On Jan 10, 2015, at 6:16 PM, Debby Phillips <semisweetdebby at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Ah, Brandon! But you see, spirituality within Christianity can be terrifying, too.  Have you read Saint John of the Cross? He writes about a very dark time in his life.  And there are others who have written of desert times when God seemed terribly, frighteningly absent.  And I have experienced those times myself.  Where are you, God? And in the Chronicles of Narnia, someone says of Aslan, (who is symbolic for Jesus) Aslan is good, but he's not tame." So at this point in my life, I am clinging to God who is orderly, and in control.  And yet if I surrender totally to God, (which is my aim, and lose my life for Him, then my life can never be the same.  To dwell in silence, in His Presence, and yet not sense His Presence, is a terrifying experience indeed.  And to walk in faith, but not to hear His voice, not to know that He is with me is a terrifying thing.  Sometimes, all we can cling to is the knowledge that He is.  And somehow that in His Presence is love, even though that Love seems far away.  Christianity is not for sissies.  It is really only for the brave of heart.  Christianity does not succeed for lack of trying, but for failure to try.  Most of us, and me included often settle for mediocre Christianity, at best.  We can only stand the ordered path of "church on Sunday" kind of Christianity.  And yet it is so much more.  Christ wants us to follow Him to death, to carry our cross, to accept suffering, not just the "comfort" of Christianity, but the cross.  Okay, now that I've probably confused you and everybody else, I'll go hide again quite awhile.  (Smile).  And yes, Brandon, I like this kind of dialog.  I'm not trying to convert you-if that should happen then it's not my doing, I'm just sharing with you, and you're sharing with me.  Agreed?    Blessings,    Debby